Matt Painter Dishes on Why Braden Smith Got Animated in Purdue's Huddle vs. Nebraska

When Nebraska made a run, Braden Smith took over during a Purdue timeout. Why was he so animated? Matt Painter talked about it after the game.

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) controls the ball. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

CHICAGO — Braden Smith didn't want his team to squander a big lead because of simple mistakes. So, in the second half of Friday night's quarterfinal game, after Nebraska cut Purdue's lead from 16 points down to 10, the senior leader decided to take charge.

Matt Painter took a timeout with 12:17 left in the second half and Purdue leading 51-41. He wasn't the first one to address his team during the break, though. With everyone seated around him, Smith was the one leading the huddle, urging everyone to communicate on the defensive end.

"He was talking about the lack of communication in ball screen defense.  So he was losing his mind because they weren't calling left, right, whatever. We were trying to calm everybody at that point," Painter said. "What he was saying, he was accurate.  So sometimes it's just shut up and sit there. Players that lead the right way and are talking about the things that we're drilling and trying to get out there, it's better coming from them. It just simply is."

Nebraska continued to make brief runs throughout the second half, but Smith's message seemed to get through. The Huskers never got closer than eight points, and Purdue was able to pick up a 74-58 victory to advance to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter gestures to the referees in a game. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Purdue's defense played well throughout Friday night's game, making life difficult on the Huskers. Nebraska shot just 39% from the field and 32% from three-point range. It attempted only nine free throws, making four.

The biggest difference for Purdue came from the turnover category. Nebraska ended the game with 10 turnovers, and the Boilermakers turned that into 17 points. That was the difference in the game.

Nebraska still had some open looks, but Purdue kept the Huskers out of the painted area and only allowed 10 second-chance points. For a team that has struggled on that end of the floor, Friday's performance was a positive sign.

What's even more positive, though, is Purdue having a leader willing to step up in that type of moment. It made a difference for the Boilermakers and put them one win away from a trip to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game.

Braden Smith continues to dominate

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) celebrates a referee call. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

If you were to simply look at Smith's point totals through the first two games of the Big Ten Tournament, you wouldn't be impressed. He's scored just 10 total points, five in Thursday's win over Northwestern and five more in Friday's victory over Nebraska.

Smith has impacted the game significantly as a facilitator, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The senior dished out 10 more assists in the win over the Huskers, just a day after recording 16 assists against Northwestern.

He had a few more turnovers in the quarterfinal game on Friday, but has only five in the first two games. That level of efficiency helps Purdue's offense perform at an incredibly high clip.

Smith hasn't been a scoring threat for the Boilers yet, but they haven't needed him to play that role. Right now, he's getting the ball to his teammates with great opportunities to score, and they're all taking advantage.

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